Brady Brassart’s in their ear. Jaynen Rissling’s in their grill. Chris Driedger’s in their head.

And this Western Hockey League Eastern Conference quarter-final series is back in the blender.

“I thought,” offered Calgary Hitmen coach Mike Williamson, “that our guys were a lot more under control (Saturday). You can’t play without a bit of a chip on your shoulder. Emotion’s a big part of this game. I thought in Game 1 we had some of that, but it was misdirected. A lot of it came after whistles, towards the refs.

“In Game 2, we showed a lot more emotion between whistles, used it on our opponents.”

As the chirpy Brassart noted:

“There’s a fine line between stupid and tough.”

It’s 9:45 a.m., Sunday, and the Scotiabank Saddledome is quiet. Not even the familiar whirr of the driers at event level to disrupt the calm. The bags are being piled up, the bus readied for a four-and-a-half-hour jaunt to Cranbrook, stopping for a bite to eat at the Crowsnest Pass.

The Kootenay Ice would dearly love to mass produce Game 1, a convincing 5-2 opening salvo that showcased their dazzling skill sets.

The Hitmen will fancy their chances if able to replicate the second, an equally-decisive, more physically-directed 5-0 series-equalizing response backed by Driedger’s 35 saves.

And so the two teams head west for back-to-backs, Monday-Tuesday, at the 4,264-seat Western Financial Place.

“We expected a tough series, a long series,” noted Williamson. “They’re a good team. Very skilled at creating offensive chances. They’re going home. They’re very confident and comfortable there.

“We knew we weren’t anywhere near good enough in Game 1.

“Actually, though, I thought even after that, leading up to (Saturday) we were in a good place. You could sense that needed amount of urgency in the guys, but there was no panic.

“You’re in a lot of trouble if you don’t have that urgency, as we saw in Game 1. Or you can go the other way, panic, fly off all helter-skelter, wander away the structure of your game and feel like you’re working your tail off, but just wind up being a fly against the window, trying to find a way out.

“As I said, I thought we were in a good place. And we played that way.

“Now it’s up to us to stay there.”

The Hitmen vow that a change in venue won’t alter the game plan. They’ll still be pounding relentlessly away, likes waves on the shore.

“When everyone gets out there, gets a touch, gets a hit, it’s easier to stay mentally in the game,” said Brassart. “We did a better job of bringing the emotion, the intensity, and channelling it in the right way (Saturday).

“Our physicality created offensive chances for us.

“That’s Hitmen hockey.”

Appearing almost anaesthetized on Thursday — until the score had gotten out of hand, when a series of late-to-the-party fits of piqué just succeeded in making them look petulant and more than a little silly — Calgary re-focused in a game that even so early in the series shaped up as a must-have.

Perhaps no one embodied the defiant indomitability of Saturday more than Brassart. A goal, two helpers, a plus-2, had (and was denied on) a penalty shot and did a mischievous job channelling his inner Theo Fleury, beaking off at Ice goalie MacKenzie Skapski and then the entire Kootenay bench to earn his second 10-minute misconduct of the series.

“Just a little back-and-forth,” said Brassart, trying to adopt the look of a Botticelli angel. “When you’re in a series against a team, you get to know them all pretty quick.”

“At a certain point in the game, when everything’s nailed down, it’s fine,” smiled captain Rissling. “Obviously they didn’t like it much and we absolutely loved it. Sets the tone for Game 3.

“I don’t think it was out of character, exactly, but I’ve never heard Brady yell too much. Now Greg (Chase) . . . he’s a helluva chirper. He’s so good, it’s bad. When you hear something he says, you just skate away rolling your eyes. It’s NOT to be repeated.”

What bears repeating is the totality of the Game 2 performance. Driedger was stellar. The Rock ’Em Sock ’Em Robots style began to pay dividends (Kootenay star centre Sam Reinhart, for example, was quiet after dominating the opener). And the home side also scored some lovely goals, proving that the Ice aren’t the only ones capable of turning on the style.

“Going on the road, we need to do exactly what we did (Saturday),” said defenceman Alex Roach, who notched Calgary’s second goal on a beautifully-placed wrist shot. “We were finishing a lot of checks. We were making it miserable on them. Their top-end guys play a lot of minutes, so if we’ve got to continue to take the body as often as we can.

“If you’re tired, you make more mistakes and the frustration builds. Then maybe they start going out of their way to make a hit or trying to get out the way, and that leaves things open for us.”

“For any team to be successful in playoffs, you have to show that edge,” echoed Rissling. “Especially against a team like Kootenay. They’re hurtin’ for players right now, down a lot of men. They’re not the biggest or most physical team in the world, so leaning on then, pounding away at the body,

“It’s going to intimidate some guys. That part of the game is definitely still there.”

At 1-1, this series starts from scratch again in Cranbook. Each side has a decisive win to pump belief and a bitter loss to instil worry. Both have shown the strengths that characterize their differing styles.

“We weren’t anywhere near where we needed to be in Game 1,” reasoned Rissling. “I’m sure Kootenay feels the same away about Game 2. They’re going to say they got the split they wanted and we’re going to say we’ve got the momentum. Each of us is going say we have the advantage.

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Johnson: Hitmen head for Cranbrook with series completely turned around

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